When Steven Flynt arrived to take over as superintendent of the Columbia County School District, COVID-19 was dominating everyone’s lives.
He said figuring it out, learning about the data, keeping up with the constant changes made for a frustrating time in his early weeks.
“Consistent data across the nation; it took us a little while to understand that,” he said. “I would say, in the Columbia County School District, we were pretty quick — as well as other districts in the area — to figure out for ourselves, what some of the things that were helping to mitigate the virus and the pandemic. But, you know, overall, at the time, I can think back, and it was a little bit frustrating, not exactly knowing what to do and trying everything you could to be able to provide a quality and effective education.”
Flynt said what helped him to keep going during the frustrations was watching how staff and students were working together through the difficult times. He said staff entered the teaching profession to work with students, to see them excel and the pandemic didn’t stop that.
Amid the frustrations were the bright spots. The district found ways to maximize the amount of time students were able to learn in person. Add to that, the advances in their use of technology including the quick transition to a digital platform as needed.
“Continued education for students was certainly a heavy lift, but something that our teachers, employees, students, parents should be extremely proud of. So going digital, and then being able to get back as soon as possible into an in-person environment, are really the probably the two largest areas that I would say we’re very proud of,” he said.
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Flynt was quick to praise, and thank, students and their parents for the successes the district scored in the second half of the 2020-2021 school year. He said mitigation measures, including social districting, sanitizing and improving air quality in schools, combined with communications among students, parents and staff minimized the number of COVID-19 cases spread within the schools.
The technology advances also benefited the day-to-day operations of the district, making it possible to hold meetings online when appropriate.
However, with all the benefits, all the technological advancements, all the skills developed by students and staff, Flynt said one thing became evident.
The importance of in-person education.
“Relationship building with peers, relationship building with teachers, of being able to interact with your students, there’s really no substitute for that we did a good job with it,” said the superintendent.
Flynt said teachers weren’t in the trenches alone. Bus drivers and cafeteria workers did what was needed to keep the district moving forward. Whether it was driving an extra route on in-person days or working double to prepare enough meals to distribute breakfasts and lunches to students during remote learning, everyone was involved in the business of education.
Heading into 2022 and beyond, Flynt wants to build on the advances they developed to make the Columbia County district one of the greatest in the nation.
“That might be a platitude, but if we can do what each student needs for them to be able to be successful, not only in their time here with us, but also later in life, we’re going to be successful,” said Flynt. “And from what I’ve seen from all the faculty and staff and support staff that supports this school district and our parents and community, that’s going to continue to happen.”
Dana Lynn McIntyre is a Staff Reporter with The Augusta Press. You can reach her at dana@theaugustapress.com
